American Journal of Epidemiology · 1995 · 64 citations · 11 references
Public HealthInfectious DiseasesPediatricsEpidemiologyHiv PreventionInfectious Disease EpidemiologyAntiretroviral TherapyHiv EpidemiologyHiv SurveillanceMother-to-child Transmission PreventionViral EpidemiologyHiv Infection In InfantsHiv Transmission DynamicsHuman Immunodeficiency Virus TransmissionMaternal Human Immunodeficiency Virus InfectionMother-to-child Hiv TransmissionMother-to-child Transmission Surveillance
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) incidence rates in India were estimated using a new method that accounts for follow-up bias. Follow-up bias arises in epidemiologic cohort studies when the incidence rate among individuals who do and do not return for follow-up are different. The new method combines data on the prevalence of p24 antigenemia among all those initially screened together with the longitudinal follow-up data on the subset of patients who returned for follow-up. Using these methods, the current HIV incidence rate among patients attending sexually transmitted disease clinics in Pune, India, was 18.6% per year. It was found that follow-up bias can cause significant underestimation in HIV incidence rates, perhaps by as much as 60%. These incidence estimates, together with other HIV seroprevalence studies, suggest the HIV epidemic in India is growing rapidly.
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